


old gardenia

by Beyond_the_Grace



Series: kindness blooms [10]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Good Petunia Evans Dursley, Good Regulus Black, Harry Potter was Adopted by Other(s), Harry Potter was Raised by Other(s), Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Not Canon Compliant, Rare Pairings, Regulus Black Lives, Regulus Black-centric, intentionally lowercase
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 20:08:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28712541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beyond_the_Grace/pseuds/Beyond_the_Grace
Summary: two brothers torn apart by a family that preached family first meet over a decade later in their mother's house.'Family is supposed to be our safe haven. Very often, it's the place where we find the deepest heartache.' - Iyanla Vanzant
Relationships: Regulus Black & Harry Potter, Regulus Black & Sirius Black, Regulus Black/Petunia Evans Dursley, Sirius Black & Harry Potter
Series: kindness blooms [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1773583
Comments: 8
Kudos: 150





	old gardenia

**Author's Note:**

> i was dreading this one because i feel like the expectation is that they reunite and fix things.....there is way too much there for them to fix things in one meeting. this may feel unfinished but so does building bridges

"you're supposed to be dead." a rugged, skinny man dressed all in black stormed into the room. he repressed a smirk at the bang the door made against the wall.

"and yet..." the other man took a slow sip of his tea and gestured vaguely. "here we are."

the men examined each other in silence for a couple minutes, registering the differences that had been formed by time's passing. the first man took note of his companion's muggle suit, effortlessly stylish and fitting well. the image of class was only disturbed by the black lines of tattoos peaking out from the sleeves and neckline. thick black hair hung lose around his thin face but the tilt of his chin suggested confidence despite his atypical aesthetic. the man was no longer the thin and awkward creature he'd been in his youth but rather now had all the grace he'd tried so hard to fake. grey eyes examined him as closely. they looked close at the hanging grime hair and gaunt figure though they lacked the judgment that he'd expected.

"what the fuck regulus?" regulus placed his tea carefully on the coffee table.

"i think i ought to be asking you that question, sirius."

"i'm not the one who died playing death eater only to return as if nothing ever happened!" sirius yelled. "and what the hell was that note!"

"i-" regulus paused, looking for the right word "deferred."

"to who? dumbledore?"

"oh do grow up sirius." regulus snarled. "to myself."

"and how do i know that you're not just playing sides?"

"how do i know you're not? you went chasing after some rat rather than taking care of your own godson!" regulus's composure finally dropped. "you left a child with nothing and for what? petty revenge."

"what do you know about anything reggie?"

"i know enough to know that you don't do that, you don't just abandon your responsibilities like that!"

"what like i abandoned the 'responsibility' to this family?" sirius asked mockingly. "that sort of responsibility?"

"this isn't about that!"

"isn't it?" sirius gestured to the family tree. "you can't tell me you weren't jumping for joy the day i left, the day that bitch blasted me off the tree."

"you don't get to do that, you do not get to bring that up."

"what? ashamed that you ended up on the losing side after all."

"says the one who went to prison for twelve years," regulus voice had cooled to a hardened whisper. "tell me siri, how's winning working out for you?"

"what did you call me here for regulus?" sirius finally sat down on the opposite sofa. "i can't believe you wanted a catch up, not with our differing beliefs."

regulus paused for a second. sirius had tired of their fighting far quicker than he had in their youth, he seemed tireder in general though. regulus hated it but he was still worried for his brother. harry had to be the priority here though.

"what beliefs would those be?"

"well your being a blood supremacist for a start." sirius replied. "and dying for a meglomaniac."

"uh-well." regulus really didn't know how to bring up his very muggle wife just yet. in fact he really hadn't planned this half as much as he wished he had.

"what is it?" sirius's voice went hard.

"i may have nearly died trying to kill the meglomaniac and then um- well- i - uh marriedamugglewoman."

"i didn't get that last bit."

"i married a muggle woman. we have a daughter." regulus smiled lightly at the thought of his wife and daughter, they really couldn't be more perfect.

sirius burst out laughing. "really a muggle? you who acted all high and mighty about all that blood shit just to end up with a muggle? i bet mummy-dearest was so pleased."

"she was dead by that point." regulus snapped. "and can you not figure out by now that i never actually gave a shit about the blood stuff."

"bullshit. regulus you can not expect me to believe that." sirius's voice turned cruel. "you were the perfect one. a slimy slytherin who acted like a right ponce, i swear all you ever said was 'yes mother' till you were off taking the mark and being a complete prat to anyone nearby. i know what you and your little friends did to micheal o'connor. you wouldn't have done that if you didn't believe in it. but no sweet little regulus can do no wrong! if you hated it that much you could have left but no mother loved you and you craved it so you stayed and became everyone's bitch. you never did shit when she was yelling at me into the night, calling my friends scum. where the fuck were you then huh? off painting your sissy portraits or having chats about how horrible muggles are with father? if you didn't believe it why didn't you just leave?"

"you think they'd let me leave? you can't take the only ticket out and then get mad at me for staying," regulus glared. "you didn't know anything about me and you never checked on me after you left so don't put this on me."

"you were the perfect child, you were fine." sirius dismissed.

"she went insane when you left. she always like you more. i can't go into the library without having a panic attack, there were nights i thought she was going to kill me!" regulus wiped his eyes harshly. "she disowned you when you left, she let you go but she would have had me dead before i could even think about leaving the family."

"father wouldn't have-"

"he was sick sirius!" regulus screamed back and sirius backed up a step. "he couldn't have stopped her."

"why didn't you tell me?"

"i thought you knew."

* * *

a calmer conversation took place in the kitchen some twenty minutes later, calmer by black family standards at the very least. they were both curled around cups of coffee, identical in how they cat but so different in how they took it. the older sipped on a big mug full of milk and sugar like a child's first taste, the other nursed a small cup holding liquid as black as the night. brothers and opposites in everyway.

"so you're married?" regulus hummed. "tell me about her."

"she's strong, like so strong, and opinionated. we argue almost every day, even when i know she's right. she can be funny though, she goes out of her way to prove magic is useless." regulus grinned. "she works at this feminist bookshop, half the women in there terrify me, and she loves it. she lets me design most of her tattoos."

"you design tattoos?" sirius asked incredulously.

"it's literally my job."

"wow, you really have changed. and your kid?"

"iris is great. she's sneaky as anything and completely spoilt, i think me and pet are compensating a bit for our own parents but its so hard to say no to her." regulus said. "she's polite though and is generally a good kid, she doesn't even argue with her cousin much. definitely gonna be in slytherin."

"not if i can change that." sirius grinned. "so how did you know about my innocence? did cissy's boy tell you?"

shit.

"i'm not in contact with cissy actually."

"so how did you know?" sirius pressed, sensing the other man's reluctance.

"harry told me."

"why do you know harry?"

"he's my nephew." regulus explained.

"that's not how godparents work regulus." sirius said as if talking to a child.

"yeah, i know."

the calm shattered before the brothers. sirius's ensuring rant went on and on and regulus's shouted objections didn't help any. both missed kreacher walking past, smirking that the yelling had returned to grimmauld after all the time in silence. the yelling continued on for a while longer until regulus could calm sirius enough to let him know that he had no idea who petunia was until they were already dating and that no the war was not over at that point he was just playing muggle. by the end of the whole affair regulus was quite done with being yelled at constantly and so offered to help sirius look preventable before inviting him to meet the family.

he probably should have checked with petunia before bringing a known murderer home. sirius's broken nose made it worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> kreature is an agent of spiteful chaos.  
> also i hate dialogue so much oml, let me wax poetic whilst everyone sits in silence i beggg


End file.
